What is Insulin Resistance?

Insulin resistance defines a person’s tolerance to glucose. As the insulin levels rise, the cells can become resistance and alter the signaling that leads to less glucose uptake and a further elevation of glucose which further perpetuates the cycle.

Insulin acts as the key that no longer fits into a lock (the receptor on glucose). When this happens, the insulin levels rise and the glucose levels rise leading to every downstream disease including: diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease, inflammation, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, migraines, infertility, dementia, expediting the aging process and on and on. If the insulin levels stay high, the body set weight stays high.

Symptoms of insulin resistance

Insulin and glucose effect our mood and can contribute to fatigue. Often accompanied by post meal fatigue, mood swings, sugar cravings, and visceral storage of fat. Fluctuations in blood sugar impacts mood, focus and mental processing. Every cell is affected to insulin resistance, even our brain cells.

So how do we determine if we are insulin resistant? A simple test. A fasting insulin. It is a measure of your insulin levels unaffected by a recent meal and detects insulin resistance long before a fasting glucose test does. It can detect early signs of metabolic dysfunction while it can be reversed. 

What causes insulin resistance? Elevated insulin, elevated stress hormones, elevated inflammatory markers, diets rich in refined carbohydrates, nutrient and/or vitamin deficiencies.

How do we to prevent and restore insulin resistance?

Two key concepts include what to eat and when. First, removing or reducing added sugars is crucial, this can be done by removing processed and packaged foods. Majority of packaged foods contain added sugar, removing snacks is another key component. The goal is 90% of the time striving to eat Whole/Clean foods and 10% of the time, we are human.

Next, is to reduce refined grains and removing as much “white” flours as possible. Whole grains are a better option along with stone mill grinding. Next, is increasing natural fats and increasing fiber and balancing macronutrients-proteins, carbs, fats. 

Exercise

Exercise is so very important for reversing insulin resistance. It makes our cells more sensitive to insulin. The goal would be 150 minutes of moderate intensity of cardiovascular exercise per week or about 30 minutes per day along with strength training, yoga and stretching.

Fasting

There are many types of fasting that can provide good benefits which can make it much more approachable. The most basic kind of fast is the break between dinner and breakfast. This type falls into our natural circadian rhythms of when the sun is up or down which can be very good. Intermittent fasting can describe multiple timetables for eating. A simple way would be to extend the overnight fast to approximately 16 hours several days per week.

Other approaches could be a 24 hour fast or time restricted eating when you only eat within a certain hour eating window, often 6-8 hours. The biggest thing with fasting is when you do eat, you still need to eat well. Fasting and then binging on ice cream is not the goal here. Fasting is not for everyone, those with a history of eating disorders, pregnant, breast feeding or with diabetes currently should discuss with your provider if this is right for you. 

Fasting helps with weight loss, reduces insulin levels, blood pressure, and improves insulin sensitivity which reduces the risk of diabetes. It helps the brain to function better by clearing out dangerous proteins (a process called autophagy) and benefits the neurons in a way that protects memory and learning.

At Empowered Health, we take a proactive approach to insulin resistance while striving for root cause analysis and prevention of all the downstream complications for optimal health for years to come. 

References

Fung, J. (2016). The obesity code: Unlocking the secrets of weight loss. Greystone Books.

University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. (2022). Insulin Resistance. https://www.integrativemedicine.arizona.edu